SKYO wrote:Hell yeah Sedins, Lu and Garrison leading this team right now! true leaders.

Santo's still looking deadly, Higgins coming around. Edler/Juice playing good.Hammy looking like he's playing hurt.Even the 4th line is playing well!

We don't have a 4th line. Sestito did't play much, neither did Webber nor Dalpne. Those three can be benched when we get healthy. Put in JS, Burrows and Kassian and suddenly we do have the makings for a 4th line.

I think MG needs to make his players wear foot protectors or this could be a long season.

One more game then Kassian is back!

Santorelli apparently tipped that OT goal. Look for a change by the NHL on that play but Garrison will still get a point.

He and his linemates are in the right places and moving the puck in the right direction almost all the time but at the same time they can't seem to build up much momentum or sustain a lot of pressure..

Is it early season / new system out of synch-ness, is this just the new/older Ryan Kesler, is it something else?

You can see the skill in little plays here and there and the overall effectiveness is evident in territorial play, hopefully the rest is coming.

For the life of him, Ryan Kesler just can’t get himself open and in a shooting position. It has been where he has struggled over the past couple of seasons.

He’s playing well, and I think the points will come. Part of it is that line has no playmaker. I keep coming back to Schroeder. I know he’s a smurf, but Schroeder with Kesler and Booth/Higgins could be an effective line.

As of two weeks ago, Torts said Schroeder would be out for about three weeks, so maybe another week or so for him?

I didn’t get to watch this game closely, but I’m glad Luongo got the win. I know he’s not perfect, but he’s a good guy, the franchise’s best goaltender by a country mile and he’s our guy right now, so I’m happy for him. Hopefully this is the end of the media saga.

Schneider is a hell of a goalie. It hurts to lose him, but I think it’s pretty clear Luongo isn’t on some downward spiral that is really going to hold us back over the medium term.

As far as the season is progressing; who are these Edler and Bieksa guys and where have they been the past two seasons? Seriously, what have Tortorella/Sullivan done to these guys? Is it all system, is it big minutes, is it a change in voice? Whatever’s going on, I hope it continues. We may finally be seeing the product of having four very good defensemen, as one or two is stepping up each game.

Early goings and all that, but Stanton had another solid game. Somebody else mentioned it the other day, but if he can be this year’s Aaron Rome, that would be huge. Garrison is looking absolutely deadly and like our best all around defenseman (again). Hamhuis has not started well this year, but he will come around.

Booth looked particularly strong in this game. Again, playing him with Schroeder could be a winner.

I don’t know if it’s just adrenaline, playing at home, a good system with good players, or what, but Santorelli has been a pleasant surprise. I have really liked his play so far, and he looks like a hard working, versatile player with offensive upside.

The fourth line sucks, but we are missing three regular forwards so that’s not totally shocking. Throw in Burrows, Kassian, and Schroeder, and all of a sudden the fourth line is a serviceable Weise-Richardson-Kassian or something.

herb wrote:For the life of him, Ryan Kesler just can’t get himself open and in a shooting position. It has been where he has struggled over the past couple of seasons.

I'm wondering it Torts should play Kesler with the twins for a few shifts........just to get his game going.

They are together on the PP.

Kesler loading up the wristshot is so predictable and quite frankly hurting his team. He should give up trying to beat the goalie from 40 ft and focus on driving the net, going for rebounds and screening the goalie.

Pretty clear who is coming out of the lineup when Burrows and Kassian are back. When they do get back, along with Schroeder, Torts may actually rotate the lines. the guys on the third line are playing well so I see very little reason why Torts wouldn't be playing the 4th line when (if?) the lineup is healthy.

Also nice to see Stanton and Tanev putting together some solid 3rd pairing minutes.

Santorelli - keep in mind that while he got prime icetime he is a former 40 point guy. He has shown the ability to play in the NHL at a reasonable level. And that was only 2 seasons ago. He's also only 27 so while perhaps there isn;t a huge upside he isn't on the down swing either. But most importantly, he was waived last year and he saw some AHl time for a brief spell. He's playing for his big cheque hockey career this season. It's the type of low risk signing you like to see...guy who has shown well in the past, is still mid-20s and has something major to prove.

tantalum wrote:Pretty clear who is coming out of the lineup when Burrows and Kassian are back. When they do get back, along with Schroeder, Torts may actually rotate the lines. the guys on the third line are playing well so I see very little reason why Torts wouldn't be playing the 4th line when (if?) the lineup is healthy.

Also nice to see Stanton and Tanev putting together some solid 3rd pairing minutes.

Santorelli - keep in mind that while he got prime icetime he is a former 40 point guy. He has shown the ability to play in the NHL at a reasonable level. And that was only 2 seasons ago. He's also only 27 so while perhaps there isn;t a huge upside he isn't on the down swing either. But most importantly, he was waived last year and he saw some AHl time for a brief spell. He's playing for his big cheque hockey career this season. It's the type of low risk signing you like to see...guy who has shown well in the past, is still mid-20s and has something major to prove.

I like Torts quote about Santo letting the coaching staff know his intentions this year by the physical condition in which he showed up for camp... its like he showed up on the job site at 5 am with work boots and a bag lunch

Hockey Widow wrote:Santorelli apparently tipped that OT goal. Look for a change by the NHL on that play but Garrison will still get a point.

HW, you are right!

TEAM Radio ‏@TEAM1040 RT @TGfireandice: NHL announces scoring on OT goal last night in Vancouver has been changed. Santorelli gets goal now from Garrison & Booth

You could clearly see that last tip on the replay, interesting that those TSN leaf hacks were so quick to go back to leaf hi-lights that they didn't bother to point it out or run a couple of slo mo's to be sure

I know, but I was thinking more along the lines of playing them together 5 on 5.

Put all the eggs in one basket, play them lots, and go at the other team HARD.......especially when playing those speedy 1-3-1 teams with annoying aggressive forechecks such as LA, San Jose, Boston, and St. Louis (i.e. teams that we have great difficulty scoring against).

My line of thinking in doing this, is that the Canucks often struggle to score against these teams even with a "balanced" attack. No one line can ever generate decent and consistent scoring chances.........so why not completely stack one line in situations like this?

That way, even if opposing teams' throw out their best shut down pairings and/or shut down center, our 'stacked' line will still prove to be too much.

Last edited by The Brown Knight on Wed Oct 09, 2013 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Despite the moaning and groaning about Booth, he has always been a guy who drives play.

Last night when Booth was on the ice the Canucks outshot the Devils 10-1. One shot against in over 18 minutes of play is outstanding. He gets flack for not being a defensive guy, but it’s hard to get scored on when the opposing team never has the puck.

I’m not so sure about Booth and Kesler, but one thing is for sure, we will see Booth on every line throughout points of this season and particular games. Booth and Schroeder could be something. We may not have that bona fide guy we can point to on the wing (aside from Dank), but at least Torts has options. There are a lot of interchangeable parts. Rest assured every combination will be tried!